Following the "Trefdag Digitaal Vlaanderen" event on Thursday, November 28, 2019, Alistar spoke with Marijke Schroos (Public Sector Director at Microsoft Belux) about digital transformation in the public sector.
Alistar: “Hello, Marijke. We’re glad to have the opportunity to interview you for the Alistar blog. Let’s jump right into the most important question. Digital transformation—what does that mean for the Flemish government?”
Marijke: “Digital transformation is about customer loyalty. For the government, it’s about connecting with citizens and streamlining internal processes. Technology is a means to bring about transformation. I think the Flemish government’s vision document, ‘Flanders Radically Digital,’ is excellent, and that the Flemish Community really knows what it’s doing.”
Alistar: “Government organizations are sometimes hesitant when it comes to the cloud. What advice would you give government agencies to help them take the plunge?”
Marijke: “Governments should focus primarily on policy and providing services to citizens, and spend as little time as possible managing hardware and software. Security and cybersecurity are also very important. Cloud technology offers many better solutions for this. Cloud technology means that even a small municipality can have the same resources as the largest government organization. That’s quite impressive, isn’t it?”
Alistar: “How important is the Flemish government to Microsoft?”
Marijke: “The Flemish government is very important to Microsoft. It is a major player in the public sector. Internationally, Flanders is known for its innovative approach. They take a forward-thinking approach in a wide variety of areas: improved service delivery, the use of sensors, and more. We’re seeing more and more co-development projects and collaboration between governments. That’s a good thing for everyone.”
Alistar: “In your opinion, what is the role of Microsoft partners in the digital transformation of the Flemish government?”
Marijke: “That role is very broad. The idea is that Microsoft partners will handle project implementation and provide day-to-day support. Microsoft Belux provides the building blocks, but there is still a great deal of further development to be done. For that, we look to the local partner ecosystem. That partner ecosystem has always been very important to Microsoft, and it will remain so in the future. A good partner is on board and can challenge, guide, and transform a customer. A partner must contribute to the thinking process. I think Alistar is doing a very good job in this regard.”
Alistar: “Thank you, Marijke. You’re invited to visit Alistar’s booth at the Trefdag Digitaal Vlaanderen event.”
Marijke: “You're welcome. I'll definitely stop by sometime.”
About the Digital Flanders Meetup
The Digital Flanders Conference will take place on Thursday, November 28, 2019, at the ICC in Ghent. This annual conference is the largest event within the Flemish government and is organized by the Flanders Information Agency. At the event, the agency presents its products and services to clients through various information sessions and workshops. By 2020, Information Flanders aims to make all interactions between citizens, businesses, and organizations and the Flemish government possible digitally. To achieve this, they are fully committed to simplification and further digitization through, for example, virtual service counters, data-sharing platforms, and Customer Relationship Management.
Did you know?
To organize the Digital Flanders Meetup, the Flanders Information Agency uses a specific Event Management Module in Dynamics 365 which was developed in collaboration with Alistar.
